Page 1354 - Sports

Neeraj Chopra strikes gold at French meet

India's star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra comfortably won the gold at the Sotteville Athletics meet in France, beating a competitive field which included 2012 London Olympics gold-medallist Keshorn Walcott. Chopra's throw of 85.17m put him way ahead of the field, including Moldova's Andrian Mardare (81.48m) and Lithuania's Edis Matusevicius (79.31m), who finished second and third respectively. Waclott of Trinidad and Tobago came up with a throw of 78.26m, which was only enough for fifth place. The 20-year-old Indian from Panipat had first made headlines when he won the gold in the 2016 World Junior Championship with a record throw of 86.48m. He also won the gold at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast earlier this year before breaking the national record with a 87.43m effort at the Doha Diamond League, where he finished fourth. "Well done Neeraj...keep going...Congratulations to Neeraj and coach Uwe Hohn (former World Record Holder in javelin throw). Thank you SAI and Govt of India

We need to find good balance in ODI side before World Cup: Kohli

India will have to find the right balance in the ODI side and get their "act together" before the World Cup next year, said skipper Virat Kohli after his team's 1-2 loss in the three-match series. "These kind of games will tell us what we need to improve upon for the World Cup. We need to have a good balance in the side, and we need to get our act right before the World Cup. We can't rely on one skill, and we need to do well in all departments," said Kohli after the eight-wicket defeat in the series decider yesterday. India are considered to be a top-heavy batting side which is lacking solidity in the middle-order, something that was evident in third and final ODI after the fall of Rohit Sharma (2), Shikhar Dhawan (44) and Virat Kohli (71). India were 156 for four in the 31st over but could only manage 100 runs in the last 20 overs. "We were never up to the mark as far as runs were concerned. We had 25-30 runs too little. England were clinical in all departments and thoroughly ...

Asian Games venues '95% ready' but potential pitfalls remain

Asian Games venues will be ready before Indonesia hosts the showpiece event in a month, organisers say, but the threat of terror attacks and endless traffic jams still looms over the huge tournament. An army of labourers has been toiling around the clock to finish building work, widen roads and plant trees in a breakneck bid to beautify Jakarta, a teeming metropolis that many visitors find tough to love. The athletes' village looks ready, but some competitors may need nose pegs -- it backs out onto a toxic, foul-smelling river. Jakarta and Palembang in Sumatra are set to host about 11,000 athletes and 5,000 officials from 45 Asian countries for the August 18 to September 2 Games, the world's biggest multi-sport event behind the Olympics. Apart from a still-unfinished squash complex, most venues appear nearly done. The Gelora Bung Karno main stadium, used when Indonesia last hosted the Games in 1962, has undergone a major renovation for the 30 trillion rupiah ($2 billion) event. "I ...

Bouchard battles past Bacsinszky in Gstaad opener

Eugenie Bouchard quelled a home threat at the Gstaad WTA tournament on Tuesday, fighting back to beat Timea Bacsinszky 4-6, 7-6 (7/1), 6-4 for a second-round place. The 146th-ranked Canadian who played the Wimbledon final four years ago but has since suffered through season after season of disappointment and a tumbling ranking, spent more than two and three-quarter hours in overcoming two-time Roland Garros semi-finalist Bacsinszky. The Swiss who once stood ninth in the world, missed the entire clay and grass season after tearing her right calf muscle during a match warm-up in Rabat last spring. She has played - and lost - only five matches this season - her ranking stands at 761. Bouchard exited in the Wimbledon second round a fortnight ago, then switched to clay last week by entering a lower-level event, where she also lost her opening match. Despite her clay victory, the 24-year-old is keeping any hopes of turning her career round on an extremely low simmer. "All the conditions ..

Gerrard concern over toothless Rangers

Manager Steven Gerrard is concerned over Rangers' lack of bite after a goalless draw with FK Shkupi in Macedonia on Tuesday. The Scottish Premier League side progressed to the Europa League second qualifying round 2-0 on aggregate. But Gerrard told RangersTV: "There are things I'm pleased at, but I am concerned about the lack of quality in the final third." Rangers will now face either Petrocub of Moldova or Croatian side Osijek.

Reigning Olympic TT champs Ma Long, Ding Ning to skip Asiad

Table tennis grand slam winners Ma Long and Ding Ning will skip next month's Asian Games in Indonesia as China announced a youngsters-packed table tennis squad on Tuesday for the quadrennial continental event.

Iceland coach Hallgrimsson resigns

Iceland's football team head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson on Tuesday stepped down after leading the European side to its first FIFA World Cup.

Ton-up Root dominates Indian spinners, England take series 2-1

Star batsman Joe Root continued his splendid run with a second successive century as England produced another impressive allround display to canter to a comprehensive eight-wicket win over India in the series-deciding final ODI to wrap up the three-match series 2-1, here today. Root (100), who had scored a match-winning century in the second ODI, completed his 13th ODI ton in the last ball, while skipper Eoin Morgan (88) smashed an unbeaten half-century as the duo shared a 186-run unconquered third wicket stand to script a successful runchase on a track which seemed to have eased out later in the day. Chasing 258 to win, England finished with 260/2 in 44.3 overs as India's streak of nine consecutive bilateral series' wins came to a halt. With this win, England exacted revenge for their 1-2 loss against India in the twenty20 series. England thus won their first bilateral ODI series against this opposition since 2011. Earlier, Virat Kohli scored 71 runs off 72 balls, inclusive of eight .

England outclass India by 8 wickets, clinch ODI series

England put up a strong all-round show to thump an underwhelming India by eight wickets in the series-deciding third and final One-day International (ODI) at the Headingley cricket ground here on Tuesday.

England pip India by 8 wickets, clinch ODI series

England put up a strong all-round show to thump an underwhelming India by eight wickets in the series-deciding third and final One-day International (ODI) at the Headingley cricket ground here on Tuesday.

India set 257-run target for England in series decider

India managed to notch up 256 runs on the board for the loss of eight wickets in the deciding One Day International (ODI) at the Headingley Carnegie Stadium on Tuesday.Having been put to bat first, the Indian batting line fluttered from the start and barring a 71-run stand between Shikhar Dhawan and captain Virat Kohli, found it difficult to build a lasting partnership on the crease.Having disappointed in the second ODI at Lords after back-to-back tons, Rohit Sharma was the first Indian batsman to return to the pavilion, after he was caught at deep square leg from a David Willey delivery.Kohli walked into the crease and settled in quickly as he got off the mark with a boundary on his first delivery. With support from Dhawan, who was in fine touch on the other end, the two looked set to guide India towards a 300-plus score.However, a mix-up between the two accounted for Dhawan's wicket as he was run out after Kohli signalled him to retreat after initiating a run. His lunge towards the .

Tough draw for Indians at Badminton Worlds

India's competitors in the BWF World Badminton Championships 2018 in Nanjing, China, have been handed a difficult path in the draw.

India A struggling at 106/4 against England Lions

India A struggled to 106 for four in 32 overs after veteran Alastair Cook's marathon 180 powered England Lions to 423 all out on the second day of the only four-day unofficial Test here. Young opener Prithvi Shaw top-scored with 62 for India A at the County Ground, but others such as Test specialist Murali Vijay, Mayank Agarwal and skipper Karun Nair failed to get going. Looking to get some much-needed batting practice ahead of the upcoming Test series against England, Ajinkya Rahane was the unbeaten batsman at the crease along with Rishabh Pant. Shaw struck eight boundaries in his 82-ball stay, which was cut short by Sam Curran. Fast-medium bowler Matthew Fisher took two wickets for England Lions. India A were dealt their blow after reaching 37 and could not quite get a partnership going. Starting the day on 310 for two, the overnight pair of centurion Alastair Cook (154) and Dawid Malan (59) added 35 runs before Cook fell for 180 to Ankit Rajpoot, which ended a 181-run partnership ..

Verma third, Deepika ninth in World Cup qualification round

Indian compound archer Abhishek Verma had a near perfect run in the first 36 arrows before finishing third in the qualification round of the stage four of the Archery World Cup here today. The Asian Games gold medallist got off to a glorious start with five perfect rounds to make it 300 out of 300. But in the sixth round, pressure got the better of him as he shot just outside the 10 ring for 35 perfect 10s to lead with 359/360 points at the midway stage. "If you hit five 60 rounds, you know it's time to create a world record. There's a lot of pressure. My shot was just outside the 10 ring, but it's not a bad score," Verma said. Dutchman Mike Schloesser overtook the Indian in the last 36 arrows to top the qualification round as Verma had to be content with the third spot with 709 points. "Overall, our group is good. Maybe we're lacking some ranking round points from the team, but we have time. "I'm confident about the finals. I'm preparing harder than previously and I think I've done ..

Gurusaidutt enter main draw of Singapore Open

Former Commonwealth Games bronze medallist RMV Gurusaidutt notched up successive victories in the men's singles qualifiers to progress to the main draw of the USD 355,000 Singapore Open World Tour Super 500 here today. On a comeback trail after recovering from injuries, Gurusaidutt beat Italy's Rosario Maddaloni 21-7 21-10 in the opening round before dumping Malaysian fourth Leong Jun Hao 21-18 21-18 in the second match to enter the main draw. He will face China's Qiao Bin tomorrow. Mixed doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa also made a positive start to their campaign as they defeated Indonesia duo of Andika Ramadiansyah and Mychelle Crhystine Bandaso 21-16 21-19 in the opening round. Satwiksairaj and Ashwini will meet another Hong Kong combo of Chun Hei Reginald and Chau Hoi Wah next. However, third seeded England combo of Marcus Ellis and Lauren Smith ended the campaign of Venkat Gaurav Prasad and Juhi Dewangan 21-10 21-9 in another match.

Satwik-Ponnappa advances, Gurusaidutt, Rituparna qualify for Singapore Open

India's mixed doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa advanced while singles shuttlers R.M.V Gurusaidutt and Rituparna qualified for the Singapore Open here on Tuesday.

Disciplined England restrict India to 256/8 in series decider

Leg-spinner Adil Rashid's triple strikes in the middle overs helped England restrict India for a below par 256/8 in the series-deciding third and final One-day International (ODI) at the Headingley cricket ground here on Tuesday.

Approach Asiad with must-win attitude: Indian hockey team coach

Indian men's hockey team chief coach Harendra Singh on Tuesday said they must approach the Asian Games in August with a must-win attitude if they wish to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

New Villarreal midfielder Caseres looking to grow in La Liga

Newly-signed Villarreal midfielder Santiago Caseres said on Tuesday that he is looking forward to developing his skills in La Liga football championship.

Kohli hits 71 but England manage to restrict India to modest 257

Skipper Virat Kohli cracked a strokeful 71 before England dished out some disciplined bowling effort to restrict India to a modest 256 for 8 in the series-deciding third and final ODI at Headingley here today. Kohli scored 71 off 72 balls, inclusive of eight fours, but the Indian innings faltered in face of some quality spin bowling by Adil Rashid, who snapped 3 for 49 to hurt the middle order. Kohli forged a 71-run partnership for the second wicket with Shikhar Dhawan (44) but after the duo were dismissed under-fire Mahendra Singh Dhoni scored 42 off 66 balls to shepherd the innings in the latter half. Put into bat, India got off to a poor start as England pacers Mark Wood (1-30) and David Willey (3-40) moved the new balls around under heavy cloud cover with opener Rohit Sharma, in particular, struggling to put bat to ball. The Mumbaikar scored 2 off 18 balls before holing out to square leg in an effort to break the shackles. At 13/1 in the sixth over, Kohli joined Shikhar Dhawan ...